


Troublesome Youngsters

by Griselda_Gimpel



Category: Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Genre: Light-Hearted, M/M, Original Character(s), Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Reincarnation Romance, Vanyel and Stefen are horses now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24354931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griselda_Gimpel/pseuds/Griselda_Gimpel
Summary: In the wake of the Final Storm at the end of Storm Breaking, Vanyel and Stefen decide to reincarnate as Companions. Eleven years pass, and it's time to Choose their Heralds.What will they do when the brats don't like each other?
Relationships: Vanyel Ashkevron/Stefen
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	1. Childhood Hatreds

**Author's Note:**

> biichan suggested that "Valdir" would be a better name for Companion!Vanyel than "Leynav", so I edited the fic to go with that.

No one was surprised when the two Companions set out to retrieve their respective Chosen Heralds on the same day. Nor did anyone bat an eye when they left by the same gate and continued traveling down the same road. The two had both been among the Companions born in the aftermath of the Final Storm and averted Cataclysm some eleven years prior, and they had been inseparable since colt-hood. As they had matured, no mare had caught either of their eyes. For that matter, nor did any stallion but each other. The two were often the topic of idle gossip and the occasional spirited debate among the denizens of the Palace complex.

“I think they’ll Choose a set of best friends,” predicted the Sun-Priest Karal over tea with Alberich one day.

“Their Chosens will be twins,” bet Elspeth while walking with her husband Darkwind on another day.

“A lifebonded couple,” Talia insisted to Dirk, for she was quite certain that the two Companions themselves had a lifebond. Talia was correct about them having a lifebond, but on the matter of their Chosens?

All of them were completely wrong.

\---

Karl Butter sat on the steps of the Sun Temple and contemplated how much he hated Cataclysm. Not, mind you, THE Cataclysm, either the first one or the second, would be repeat that had been averted by his namesake. He supposed that he did hate them, too, but in a vague, impersonal way. After all, the first Cataclysm had occurred thousands of years ago, and the second Cataclysm, that had been stopped, had been set to happen shortly before he was born, so neither was really “real” to him. No, the Cataclysm he hated was another girl in the town.

He was not, in general, the sort of boy given over to hatred. He never threw rocks at the barn cats the way some of the other boys did, and he couldn’t bear to have the wings pulled off of insects. He didn’t push around the smaller children, and he always said “please” and “thank you” like he’d been taught. The other boys often called him a sissy, and he rather suspected that he was letting his father down in some way. Still, things had been bearable until they’d all went wrong.

Karl shifted his thoughts back to Cataclysm. He no more wanted to contemplate _that_ than he wanted to contemplate how sorry he felt, which is what he was supposed to be contemplating. The problem there was that he didn’t feel sorry at all, on account of the fact that he was – of this, he was quite certain – innocent as a new born lamb in the matter, and the only reason he was in trouble at all was because of _her_. Besides, as long as he looked contemplative, no one would know what thoughts were actually going through his head. Well, okay, he supposed that the Sunlord would know, but Karl also reasoned that the Sunlord would know all of the facts in question and thus clearly would side with Karl in the dispute.

Suddenly, there came a sound like bells. It was like a sign from on high, and as Karl smiled and looked up, he saw something pure white coming toward him.

\---

Cataclysm “Cat” Layer, age eleven, sat on in her secluded spot on the bank of the river, making bricks and thinking how much she hated Karl Butter. She loathed him. She despised him. She utterly detested him. She was confident that as her synonym lessons continued in her schooling, she would uncover more words to describe her animosity toward her peer.

As Cat ground more clay, she reflected on whether it was okay that she hated Karl so. She rather thought it must be. First of all, he deserved to be hated for being such a nasty rat of a boy. Second of all, she didn’t really hate anyone else. She didn’t even hate her parents overly much for naming her “Cataclysm”. She’d mostly and most magnanimously forgiven them for doing so, in any sense. Karl was quite a different story, all together.

There was a soft wicker of a laugh in the reeds on the other side of the river. She looked up and tried to make out what is was. The “river”, as she knew it, was really only a small tributary and was not very far across, but the plants on the other side were more overgrown. Whatever had laughed shifted, and Cat caught a glimpse of pure white through the green. Then a Companion stepped into view.

The Companion immediately broke into a trot, crossed the shallow waters, and came to a stop by Cat. That allowed Cat to get a proper look at him, and she let out a gasp. He was the most beautiful stallion she had ever seen, with high cheekbones and eyes that were silver instead of the usual blue. Even on the soft clay of the bank, his hooves made a chiming sound like bells. Cat was suddenly quite self-conscious of the mud that was on the apron of her dress. And on her cheek. And in her right pigtail. All in all, she felt decidedly grubby.

: _Oh, don’t put too much stock in beauty,_ : the Companion Mindspoke at her. : _You are my Chosen. My name is V-, ah, call me Valdir._ :

“Oh,” said Cat. “Er, um, I’m Cat. Well, Cataclysm, actually. Cataclysm Layer.”

: _Do you want to say goodbye to your family, or should we set off to Haven right away?_ :

Cat finally regained her senses. “I need to get these bricks to Mom and Dad, so they can get them into the kiln. Oh, but some of them aren’t dry yet.” She looked up at Valdir fretfully. “Does being Chosen get you out of chores?”

: _Not all of them,_ : Valdir told her, : _You’ll have more chores as a Herald trainee. Why don’t we get the bricks that are dry to the kiln, and someone can come back for the rest later?_ :

“Okay!” Cat begin carefully setting the dry bricks on her small cart wagon. When she was done, she looked up at her new Companion and smiled a chipped tooth smile. “I’m ready.”

Valdir nuzzled the rope that Cat used to pull the cart. : _If you rode, I could pull the cart with my teeth._ :

“That’s very generous of you,” Cat said. Valdir was much too tall for her to get up on, so he crouched down so she could sit astride his back. She’d never ridden before, but she knew you could always trust a Companion. As if to prove truth to the thought, Valdir set off at a gentle walk. Valdir pulling the car didn’t even make for a bumpy ride; he went slow and did not let the burden cause her to be jolted. They soon came to the edge of the town square, and Cat saw that there was another Companion entering the square from the opposite direction.

: _Stefendel,_ : Valdir Mindspoke with a happy sigh. Dropping the rope for the cart, he bound to the center of the square. Cat held on tightly as a precaution, but Valdir’s movements were so utterly fluid that she knew there was no danger of him letting her fall. She let her eyes taken in the appearance of the new Companion. Despite both of them being pure white, it was very easy to tell them apart. The Companion Stefendel was taller and slender than Valdir, with a square jaw and large eyes. Whereas Valdir’s mane fell straight, Stefendel’s had a loose curl to it.

The two stallions met in the center, entwining their necks and nuzzling each other joyfully. Cat had been so focused on the appearance of the second Companion that it had taken her a moment to realize that he, too, had a Chosen. She recognized him in an instant, and her eyes narrowed.

“You,” she hissed at Karl.

: _Oh, do you two know each other?_ : Stefendel asked, batting his eyelashes innocently.

“Yes,” grumbled Karl. “This is Disaster.”

“And this,” Cat said grandly, “is His Holiness.” There was a vicious gleam in her eyes and clear mockery in her voice when she made the introduction.

: _Well met, Disaster,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke.

: _And a pleasure to meet you, Holiness,_ : Mindspoke Valdir. : _I am Valdir. I am Stefendel’s beloved._ :

: _So it’s a good thing you two come from the same town,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke brightly, : _since you’ll be spending a lot of time together._ :


	2. Childhood Quarrels

_It wasn’t fair!_

That was all Karl could think as the quartet set off to inform Cat and Karl’s families of their Choosing. The town of Mulberry Hill was not especially far from Haven, so while it wasn’t a particularly large town, Companions and their Heralds passed through periodically as they headed out to their various circuits. Karl had always loved it when they came. When they’d come through, his parents had always permitted him to pause during his deliveries or take a break from his lessons watch them. And now he was going to be a Herald himself, with his very own Companion. But...but…

So was _she_.

The quartet had decided to go to Cat’s house first, so that Valdir could drop off the bricks. Both Cat and Karl’s families lived in nearly identical brick houses in the residential area, a scant two streets away from each other. The brick roads of the town were by no means new, and the cart got stuck in places where the road had become uneven. Still, Karl didn’t think the cart of bricks had delayed them that much. But when they arrived at Cat’s house, they found the street outside crowded with every family member in town that either Cat or Karl had. Karl supposed that as fast as Companions were said to be, gossip in a small town was still faster.

Karl waved excitedly at his parents when he spotted them. His mother was a short, plump woman; Karl resembled her only in his hair and eyes, which were both brown. He largely took after his father, except that Karl was still dreadfully scrawny and – despite his mother’s assurances that he’d grow in his own time – he was still a thumbs length shorter than _her_. Karl’s father, by contrast, was a mass of burly muscles from a lifetime spent hauling cheese from the nearby farms to the homes of those who lived in town.

Karl’s mother burst into happy tears when she saw him astride Stefendel’s back, and his father made that gruff grunting sound that he did when he approved of something. Karl had never seen his father cry, and he made an effort to never cry himself, or at least not in front of his father. So he resisted the urge to cry now. Instead, he darted a nasty look at Cat. She was practically sobbing along with _her_ mother, who had swooped her off of Valdir’s back. As he watched, Cat’s mother set Cat down and then threw her arms around Valdir’s neck, drenching his mane in her tears. Karl eyed his own mother wearily and then dismounted before she could embarrass him.

It was rather difficult to follow the conversation, as everyone wanted to babble at once, and also Karl was passed from his mother to his aunt to his other aunt and so forth, each crushing him in a hug in turn. What he did catch sounded thusly:

“I’m so proud of you!”

“My daughter, a Herald!”

“I want a Companion!”

“Why couldn’t I be Chosen?”

“Hush dears, envy is a sin.”

“Does this mean that Karl is going away?”

“Just to Haven, dear. It’s not far.”

“Yes, but I want to know if I can have his room!”

“Is Cat going to be able to visit?”

“Those are some fine-looking stallions.”

“Wow, they really seem to like each other, don’t they?”

At this point, Karl was able to struggle away from his grandmother’s clutches to see that Valdir and Stefendel were indeed nuzzling each other again.

“Their names are Valdir and Stefendel,” Cat said. She gestured at her Companion. “He says to tell you that he and Stefendel are in love.”

“Huh, I hadn’t realized that Companions could be shaych.” (Karl’s father wrinkled his nose at this comment, but out of reverence for Companions, he did not say anything.)

“Oh, that will be perfect,” Cat’s mom said to her daughter. “I know you and Karl are such good friends.”

Karl’s mother nodded. “It’s a relief to know that they’ll be going to Haven together. They can all look out for each other.”

Cat looked at Karl and sneered, but she did it so briefly that he was the only one who saw. He stuck his tongue out at her in turn, being careful so that none of the adults caught him. Being Chosen seemed to have gotten him out of Contemplation Punishment, and he didn’t want to risk raising the ire of the parents.

“When do they leave?” Karl’s grandfather asked Stefendel.

: _It’s less than a two-day ride to Haven,_ : Stefendel told Karl. : _If you pack lightly, we can leave in a candlemark. Your needs will be provided for you, and we can always have your families send over anything you forget._ :

Karl repeated this, which led to a fresh round of sobs as he headed to his house with his family. He – and he suspected the same was true for Cat – spent most of the candlemark being hugged and bid farewell by various family members, but he did eventually get a bag together. Stefendel had explained that they’d be stopping at an inn halfway to the capitol, so Karl only packed a change of clothes and a few personal items. His mother then stuffed his bag full of foodstuffs, and they were ready to set off.

\---

: _Your family is really nice,_ : Valdir told Cat after she had undergone a similar experience to Karl. They were waiting on the road that led out of town for Stefendel and Karl to join them.

“I guess they are,” Cat said. “Do Companions have families?”

: _We do, but it’s a bit different,_ : Valdir Mindspoke.

“Look,” Cat asked suddenly. “Do we have to wait for the other two? Can’t we just go on?”

Valdir craned his neck around so that he could look at her. : _Stefendel and I set out to retrieve you two together, and we will return together._ :

Cat let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know what you see in him. I think he’s rather funny looking. Don’t know why he wasn’t sent to the glue factory.” Cat felt Valdir go tense underneath her, and she realized that what she had said had angered him.

: _Is that a kind thing to say about someone, even as a joke?_ : Valdir asked with great control.

“I suppose not,” Cat admitted. She felt rather chastised.

: _As a Herald,_ : Valdir went on, : _You’ll need to be able to see past the surface of things, and your words and feelings will have power. Especially yours._ :

There was a tinkling of hooves as Stefendel and Karl joined them then. “Sorry,” Cat whispered to Stefendel when he pulled close to nuzzle Valdir briefly before they set off.

: _All is forgiven,_ : Stefendel told her cheerfully.

“What’s that all about, Disaster?” Karl demanded.

“None of your business, Your Holiness,” Cat told him primly. Then they both crossed their arms over their chests, went “hmph!” and pointedly looked in different directions. Unfortunately for them, Valdir and Stefendel were intent on keeping pace with each other, and they kept so close that either of the children could have reached out and touched the other if they had wished, which they didn’t.

\---

It was a fine spring day, and the weather was pleasant as they traveled along the road. It was a rather quiet journey. They occasionally passed a horse or wagon going the other way, but Karl and Cat had no wish to speak to each other. Occasionally, however, Valdir or Stefendel would react to something unheard, which made it clear that they were carrying on a private, Mindspoken conversation just between the two of them. The two Companions turned off onto a small, side road, and Karl felt himself growing grumpy. He couldn’t see why Valdir had Chosen Cat!

: _You and she do not care for each other?_ : Stefendel asked him privately after they’d been on the new road for half a candlemark.

“No,” Karl answered.

“No, what?” Cat demanded.

“I was just about to tell my Companion,” Karl said haughtily, “about what a vicious little liar you are.” Around them, the wind began to blow.

“Yeah? Well, you’re a pig!” Cat shot back. “I don’t know why Stefendel Chose you. I don’t know why anyone would want to be your friend!” There was a subtle, barely perceivable crackle in the air.

“You’re pig tails are stupid!”

“So’s your nose!”

“I hope you choke on a mulberry!”

“I hope Stefendel throws you into a pile of manure!”

Neither Stefendel nor Valdir interrupted the volley of insults that were traded back in forth, as around the quartet, the wind first blew and then begin to howl. It grew hotter, as well, far hotter than could be justified by the sun. Then, all at once, a whirlwind sprung into life around them. It picked up sand and loose leaves and rocks, spinning them around and around the two children and their Companions. They couldn’t see anything past the debris caught in the wind. Then the lightning started, racing the vertical length of the whirlwind, striking the ground and flashing brightly. The temperature abruptly plummeted with the drop in pressure, as they found themselves good and thoroughly trapped by the vortex that now surrounded them.


	3. Childhood Friends

: _Well, this is quite the pickle you’ve gotten yourselves into,_ : Valdir Mindspoke calmly.

“Make it stop!” Cat screamed while Karl shouted prayers to every god he knew.

: _Why don’t_ you _make it stop?_ : Stefendel asked, just as calm as Valdir. : _After all, you’re the ones doing it._ :

: _Both of you, might I add,_ : Mindspoke Valdir. : _Perhaps it’s time you two cleared the air. Literally and metaphorically._ :

Cat and Karl exchanged venomous looks and then glanced nervously at the whirlwind that surrounded them. A jolt of lightning sparked out from the vortex and struck the ground a few hand lengths from Stefendel’s hooves. He shied away, bringing him even closer to Valdir.

: _Better hurry,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke. : _Karl, why don’t you start. Why did you call Cat a liar?_ :

“Because she is!”

Another lightning bolt flashed across the surface of the whirlwind, a crack of thunder following nearly instantly in its wake. Valdir cast a glance at the storm the children had unwittingly summoned and then addressed Karl. : _About what, specifically?_ :

“She told Mrs. Maesy that I ate her mulberry pie! I didn’t! I didn’t!”

: _Did you tell Mrs. Maesy that, Chosen?_ : Valdir asked.

Cat crossed her arms stubbornly. “He might have. It would be just like a beastly boy like him to eat pie he didn’t help make.”

“But you told Mrs. Maesy that you saw me!” Karl protested. Tears were welling up in the corner of his eyes. He tried to blink them away.

: _Chosen?_ : Valdir prompted.

Cat heaved a sigh of defeat. “Fine!” she admitted. “I might have stretched the truth a bit.”

: _Meaning that you lied,_ : Valdir pressed.

Cat squirmed in her saddle. It was clear that Valdir was displeased with her. Now that she thought about it, she’d never heard of a Herald bearing false witness against their neighbor. It was clearly something that Heralds simply did not do. If she was going to be a Herald, she was going to have to tell the truth, even if…even if…

Tears were pouring down her face and there was a large lump in her throat before she managed to force out a soft “Yes, I lied.” Then, as her shoulders began to shake, she asked her Companion, “Are you going to leave me?”

: _No,_ : Valdir Mindspoke, : _but I want to know why. I can see that you understand now that Heralds have to be honest, and that if you’re going to be a Herald, you can’t go around telling lies. But why did you lie in the first place?:_

Cat was sobbing in earnest now. It was from more than just Valdir’s disappointment in her it. It was from the pain of the memory of what had prompted her lie in the first place. “Because, because…he said we couldn’t be friends anymore! He said we couldn’t play together because I was a _girl_!”

: _Is that true?_ : Stefendel asked Karl.

Now it was Karl’s turn to shift uncomfortably. “Well, yes,” he confessed.

: _Why would Cat being a girl mean you can’t play together?_ : Stefendel asked.

“It’s unmanly!” Karl protested. “Dad said that I might-” He stopped and flushed.

: _Go on,_ : Stefendel prompted.

“Dad said that I might turn shaych,” he finished weakly. He was looking down at his hands at this point, even though Stefendel had twisted his neck around to look at him directly.

: _Like us,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke. : _Are you ashamed of having me as your Companion?_ :

Karl’s head snapped up and he shook it vehemently. “No! Of course not! You’re amazing!”

: _Sometimes,_ : Valdir stated, : _parents can be asinine._ :

: _People don’t turn shaych,_ : Stefendel added, : _That’s not how it works._ :

: _You either are shaych or aren’t, best we can tell,_ : Valdir added.

“Aunt Beatty says that I’m a hoyden,” Cat said. “Well, I say that sometimes aunts can be asinine, too.” She looked down. “I’m sorry that I lied, Karl.”

“I’m sorry that I said we couldn’t be friends,” Karl said. “And, and I’m sorry for why I said it.”

“Friends?” Cat asked, looking up.

“Friends,” Karl said. Something shifted in the air, and they looked around suddenly. The lightning and the whirlwind had completely stopped, leaving debris and burn marks in a circle about them.

“What happened?” Cat asked.

: _You and Karl both have the Mage Gift_ ,: Valdir explained.

: _It’s why we Chose you two specifically,_ : Stefendel added.

: _You both have a lot of potential, and we think you’ll learn to be a powerful team,_ : Valdir Mindspoke. : _But with that much power, you’re going to have to be extra cautious._ :

: _You don’t want your emotions to get out of hand,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke, : _but that doesn’t mean you should bottle them up, either. You, Chosen, have been trying hard not to cry. Why is that?_ :

“Because… oh. Because I don’t want anyone to think I’m _girly_.” Karl sighed.

: _Boy and men cry, too,_ : Valdir assured him.

“I won’t laugh or make fun of you if you cry,” Cat promised.

“Thanks,” Karl said. He smiled. “And I’ll try not to be a pig to you.”

: _You’ll find that there are plenty of amazing Heralds who are women,_ : Valdir Mindspoke. : _Starting with the Queen and the Queen’s Own._ :

: _The important thing is to be true, to both your word and yourselves,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke.

: _Shall we continue our journey then?_ : Valdir asked. Karl and Cat nodded in unison, and the two Companions began walking again. To Karl and Cat’s surprise, they did not continue on the road that they had been on. Instead, they did an about turn, returned to the main road, and continued along that one in the direction they had been going before they had made their detour. Cat and Karl exchanged glances and then looked at their Companions suspiciously.

“Did you plan this?” Cat asked them. “Us losing control, that is.”

: _We suspected it,_ : Stefendel answered. : _Your bonds with us aren’t as strong as they will be, but they were strong enough for us to know that there was an imbalance that needed to be addressed._ :

: _The side road barely sees any travel,_ : Valdir put in. : _If you lost control, better you do it there than on the main road._ :

: _Or in Haven,_ : Stefendel added.

: _We’re here for you,_ : Valdir promised. : _There will be many dangers ahead. For Heralds, there always are. But Stefendel and I will be here to help you as much as we can._ :

“And we’ll be here to help each other,” Karl said.

“And the other Heralds and their Companions,” Cat said. “And all the other people who need us.”

\---

After a candlemark had passed, they came upon the town where they would be stopping for the night. Valdir and Stefendel instructed Cat and Karl how to get them settled into the stables, and then Cat and Karl went to get situated in their respective rooms for the night. The innkeeper was accustomed to young Herald trainees coming through, and he had supper provided for them.

: _We’ve still got some time before sunset,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke. : _Care for a run in the meadows?_ :

: _With you, my love? Always._ :

There were no doors on their stables, and people of the town were familiar enough with Companions not to mistake them for escaped horses. Soon, they were bounding across green pastures, delighted to simply be in each other’s company. After a good run, they settled down together in the soft grass, and Stefendel draped his head across Valdir’s back.

: _Karl was very contrite,_ : he remarked.

: _Cat, too,_ : Valdir Mindspoke. : _They’re good kids. They just needed a bit of guidance._ :

: _I’m glad they listened,_ : Stefendel Mindspoke. : _I hope they always listen._ :

: _I’m glad we can be there for them._ :

: _I’m glad we came back. The Forest of Sorrows was fine, but it’s nice to get a change of scenery._ :

: _I’m glad we get to be together._ :

Stefendel snuggled closer to Valdir. : _You should know by now that nothing will keep us apart. Not death, no Mage Storms, and definitely not the childish quarrels of a couple of troublesome youngsters._ :


End file.
